At 6-3, Demaryius Thomas will be a formidable matchup for the Seahawks' physical secondary.

At 6-3, Demaryius Thomas will be a formidable matchup for the Seahawks' physical secondary.

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NEWARK, NJ - JANUARY 28: Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas #88 of the Denver Broncos speaks to the media during Super Bowl XLVIII Media Day at the Prudential Center on January 28, 2014 in Newark, New Jersey. Super Bowl XLVIII will be played between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos on February 2. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 465298017 less

NEWARK, NJ - JANUARY 28: Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas #88 of the Denver Broncos speaks to the media during Super Bowl XLVIII Media Day at the Prudential Center on January 28, 2014 in Newark, New Jersey. ... more

Thomas gets calls from his mother and grandmother wishing him good luck in the game. No call can last more than three minutes, though, because his mother and grandmother are incarcerated in a Florida prison.

"I can never call them," Thomas said while preparing for Sunday's game against Seattle. "They have to call me.

"My mom calls before and after every game. My grandma tries to call before every game. We talk about the game and pray. I get emotional. It's tough."

Tough doesn't begin to describe what Thomas witnessed when he was 11 and growing up in Georgia. Police came to his home and took away his mother, Katina Smith, and grandmother, Minnie Thomas.

In 2000, they were convicted of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. His mother received 20 years. His grandmother, a multiple offender, received a life sentence.

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"It's kind of tough right now," Thomas said. "I wish they were here with me. I think about them all the time.

"They both called me this week. It was just happy. My momma got emotional and told me, `I knew you would make it.' My grandma said the same thing. It was just happy.

Smith and Thomas will watch Sunday's game at their minimum security prison in Tallahassee, Fla. They wear Broncos' T-shirts with Thomas' No. 88.

"They get to watch every game that comes on TV there, and all of the ladies have the T-shirts and watch me, so that's special," Thomas said. "I try to play my best because they're going to talk about it to the people in the jailhouse."

Thomas, 6-foot-3 and 229 pounds, was brought up by an aunt and uncle in Dublin, Ga., where he excelled in football and basketball. He earned a scholarship to Georgia Tech. Denver selected Thomas in the first round of the 2010 draft.

What happened to his mother and grandmother had a profound effect on him and has helped Thomas get to this point in his life.

"You never know -- one day you can be here, and the next day you can be gone," he said. "I take every day like it's my last. I play every game like it's my last.

"I was brought up a Christian. I was raised around great people."

Thomas' hometown had a population of 16,215 in 2012. He compared it to the crowd of reporters on Media Day at the Prudential Center in Newark.

"This is crazy," Thomas said. "My hometown probably has this many people living there as are in here right now. It's just amazing.

"I'm blessed to be here. I'm from a small town. This is a business trip we're on. There's media everywhere, and I don't really know what to say about that. It's what I've got to deal with. It's part of the job.

"This is good. There's a first time for everything. I'm just happy to be here. I have the biggest smile on my face. This was a dream. I used to see guys up here (on television), and I told myself, `I want to be that guy right there. I want to be able to make it to the Super Bowl, do Media Day and have fun.'"

Football is a lot more fun for Denver coach John Fox when he knows he's got Thomas as a weapon for Peyton Manning. This season, Thomas had 92 catches for 1,430 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was voted to the Pro Bowl for the second time.

"Demaryius is a very gifted athlete," Fox said. "He's one of the better athletes I've been blessed to be around.

"Ultimately, it goes back to the kind of person Demaryius is. He's definitely improved and become a much more polished receiver over the last couple of years. He gets all of the credit for that. It's a lot of hard work."

Thomas will have to work extra hard against the Seahawks when he's covered by Richard Sherman, who's also 6-3 and the best cornerback in the NFL.

There's a mutual respect between Thomas and Sherman.

"I definitely think he's in the top five," Sherman said when asked to rank Thomas among the league's best receivers. "He's made the big catches. He's made a lot of runs after the catch and turned small plays into huge plays.

"He's a great receiver and a great competitor. It's going to be a fun matchup between us. We're intense competitors and good friends."

And one will be a champion.

"He's the best in the game," Thomas said. "He's in the right spot at all times. I've got to figure out something (against Sherman).

"They have a physical defense. They all hit hard. I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be an interesting game."